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The Bread Bakers Guild of America's National Tour 2009 of baking classes kicked off this month at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. The new tour follows the success of last year's Women of the Guild Tour, which featured 17 instructors and reached more than 200 students in 10 cities.

This year's tour, The Draft for Team USA, recognizes the 10th anniversary of the first Team USA gold at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. The tour features a series of 12 master classes taught by Team USA alumni, coaches and managers.

The educational tour is organized into three groups: the draft, which are workshops and auditions for the artistic design, viennoiserie and baguette/specialty bread categories of the Coupe du Monde; major leagues, classes focused on the professional and advanced baker; and minor leagues, foundational baking classes for intermediate and serious home bakers.

The next class, Team USA: A Retrospective in Pastry, takes place April 18-19 at the General Mills Education Center in Minneapolis. For more about the tour and a complete schedule, go to www.modern-baking.com or www.bbga.org.